48.48(17)(a)(a) In a county having a population of 500,000 or more, to administer child welfare services and to expend such amounts as may be necessary out of any moneys which may be appropriated for child welfare services by the legislature, which may be donated by individuals or private organizations or which may be otherwise provided. The department shall also have authority to do all of the following:
48.48(17)(a)1.
1. Investigate the conditions surrounding nonmarital children, children in need of protection or services and unborn children in need of protection or services within the county and to take every reasonable action within its power to secure for them the full benefit of all laws enacted for their benefit. Unless provided by another agency, the department shall offer social services to the caretaker of any child, and to the expectant mother of any unborn child, who is referred to the department under the conditions specified in this subdivision. This duty shall be discharged in cooperation with the court and with the public officers or boards legally responsible for the administration and enforcement of these laws.
48.48(17)(a)2.
2. Accept legal custody of children transferred to it by the court under
s. 48.355, to accept supervision over expectant mothers of unborn children who are placed under its supervision under
s. 48.355, and to provide special treatment or care for children and expectant mothers if ordered by the court and if providing special treatment or care is not the responsibility of the county department under
s. 46.215,
51.42, or
51.437. A court may not order the department to administer psychotropic medications to children and expectant mothers who receive special treatment or care under this subdivision.
48.48(17)(a)3.
3. Provide appropriate protection and services for children and the expectant mothers of unborn children in its care, including providing services for those children and their families and for those expectant mothers in their own homes, placing the children in licensed foster homes, treatment foster homes, or group homes in this state or another state within a reasonable proximity to the agency with legal custody, placing the children in the homes of guardians under
s. 48.977 (2), or contracting for services for those children by licensed child welfare agencies, except that the department may not purchase the educational component of private day treatment programs unless the department, the school board, as defined in
s. 115.001 (7), and the state superintendent of public instruction all determine that an appropriate public education program is not available. Disputes between the department and the school district shall be resolved by the state superintendent of public instruction.
48.48(17)(a)4.
4. Provide for the moral and religious training of children in its care according to the religious belief of the child or of his or her parents.
48.48(17)(a)5.
5. Place children in a county children's home in the county, to accept guardianship of children when appointed by the court and to place children under its guardianship for adoption.
48.48(17)(a)7.
7. Contract with any parent or guardian or other person for the care and maintenance of any child.
48.48(17)(a)9.
9. Use in the media a picture or description of a child in its guardianship for the purpose of finding adoptive parents for that child.
48.48(17)(a)11.
11. Contract with the county department under
s. 46.215,
51.42 or
51.437 or with a licensed child welfare agency to provide any of the services that the department is authorized to provide under this chapter.
48.48(17)(am)
(am) The requirement of statewide uniformity with respect to the organization and governance of human services does not apply to the administration of child welfare services under
par. (a).
48.48(17)(b)
(b) In performing the functions specified in
par. (a), the department may avail itself of the cooperation of any individual or private agency or organization interested in the social welfare of children and unborn children in the county.
48.48(17)(bm)
(bm) As soon as practicable after learning that a person who is receiving child welfare services under
par. (a) from the department has changed his or her county of residence, the department shall provide notice of that change to the county department of the person's new county of residence. The notice shall include a brief, written description of the services offered or provided to the person by the department and the name, telephone number, and address of a person to contact for more information.
48.48(17)(c)
(c) From the appropriations under
s. 20.437 (1) (cx),
(gx),
(kw), and
(mx), the department may provide funding for the maintenance of any child who meets all of the following criteria:
48.48(17)(c)2.
2. Is enrolled in and regularly attending a secondary education classroom program leading to a high school diploma.
48.48(17)(c)4.
4. Is living in a foster home, treatment foster home, group home, residential care center for children and youth, or subsidized guardianship home under
s. 48.62 (5).
48.48(18)
(18) To contract with public or voluntary agencies or others for the following purposes:
48.48(18)(a)
(a) To purchase in full or in part care and services that the department is authorized by any statute to provide as an alternative to providing that care and those services itself.
48.48(18)(b)
(b) To purchase or provide in full or in part the care and services that county agencies may provide or purchase under any statute and to sell to county agencies such portions of that care and those services as the county agency may desire to purchase.
48.48(18)(d)
(d) To sell services, under contract, that the department is authorized to provide by statute, to any federally recognized tribal governing body.
48.48 History
History: 1973 c. 90,
333;
1977 c. 29;
1977 c. 83 s.
26;
1977 c. 354,
418,
447,
449;
1979 c. 34 ss.
833m,
834,
2102 (20) (a);
1979 c. 221,
300;
1983 a. 27 s.
2202 (20);
1983 a. 189 s.
329 (17);
1983 a. 447;
1985 a. 135,
176;
1985 a. 332 s.
251 (3);
1987 a. 339;
1989 a. 31,
107,
359;
1991 a. 316;
1993 a. 16,
375,
385,
446,
491;
1995 a. 27 ss.
2526 to
2534m,
9126 (19),
9145 (1);
1995 a. 77;
1997 a. 27,
35,
80,
105,
292;
1999 a. 9;
2001 a. 38,
59,
69;
2005 a. 25,
293;
2007 a. 20.
48.48 Cross-reference
Cross Reference: See also ch.
DCF 51, Wis. adm. code.
48.48 Annotation
An allegation that the department failed to adopt rules or to exercise supervision over a local social service agency and that those failures led to a deprivation of child custody without due process stated a cause of action for deprivation of civil rights. Roe v. Borup,
500 F. Supp. 127 (1980).
48.48 Annotation
The state has ultimate foster care responsibility, and dismissal of a 42 USC 1983 action against the state for civil rights violations by a county agency was not appropriate. Jeanine B. by Blondin v. Thompson,
877 F. Supp. 1268 (1995).
48.481
48.481
Grants for children's community programs. From the appropriation under
s. 20.437 (1) (bc), the department shall distribute the following grants for children's community programs:
48.481(1)
(1) Foster care placement continuation. 48.481(1)(a)(a) The department shall distribute $497,200 in each fiscal year to counties for the purpose of supplementing payments for the care of an individual who attains age 18 after 1986 and who resided in a foster home or a treatment foster home for at least 2 years immediately prior to attaining age 18 and, for at least 2 years, received exceptional foster care or treatment foster care payments in order to avoid institutionalization, as provided under rules promulgated by the department, so that the individual may live in a family home or other noninstitutional situation after attaining age 18. No county may use funds provided under this paragraph to replace funds previously used by the county for this purpose.
48.481(1)(b)
(b) A county shall evaluate the proposed living arrangement of an individual under
par. (a) to determine whether that living arrangement is cost-effective compared to other care reasonably available to the county including other community care as well as institutional care. If the proposed living arrangement is not cost-effective, the county may not use funds distributed under
par. (a) for the care of that individual in the proposed living arrangement. A county shall evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the living arrangement of an individual for whom funds are provided under
par. (a) at least once every 5 years.
48.481(3)
(3) Grants to runaway programs. The department shall distribute $50,000 in each fiscal year as grants to programs that provide services for runaway children.
48.481 History
History: 1999 a. 9,
149;
2003 a. 33;
2007 a. 20 ss.
1117 to
1121; Stats. 2007 s. 48.481.
48.485
48.485
Transfer of tribal children to department for adoption. If the department accepts guardianship or legal custody or both from an American Indian tribal court under
s. 48.48 (3m), the department shall seek a permanent adoptive placement for the child. If a permanent adoptive placement is not in progress within 2 years after entry of the termination of parental rights order by the tribal court, the department may petition the tribal court to transfer legal custody or guardianship of the child back to the tribe, except that the department may not petition the tribal court to transfer back to a tribe legal custody or guardianship of a child who was initially taken into custody under
s. 48.195 (1).
48.485 History
History: 1989 a. 31;
2005 a. 296.
48.487
48.487
Tribal adolescent services. 48.487(1m)
(1m)
Tribal adolescent services allocation. From the appropriation account under
s. 20.437 (1) (eg), the department may allocate $210,000 in each fiscal year to provide the grants specified in
subs. (2),
(3) (b), and
(4m) (b).
48.487(2)
(2) Adolescent self-sufficiency services. From the allocation under
sub. (1m), the department may provide a grant annually in the amount of $85,000 to the elected governing body of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band to provide services for adolescent parents which shall emphasize high school graduation and vocational preparation, training, and experience and may be structured so as to strengthen the adolescent parent's capacity to fulfill parental responsibilities by developing social skills and increasing parenting skills. The tribe or band seeking to receive a grant to provide these services shall develop a proposed service plan that is approved by the department.
48.487(3)
(3) Adolescent pregnancy prevention services. 48.487(3)(a)(a) In this subsection, "high-risk adolescent" means a person who is at least 13 years of age but under the age of 20 and who is at risk of becoming an unmarried parent as an adolescent and of incurring long-term economic dependency on public funds and is characterized by one or more of the following:
48.487(3)(a)5.
5. Low school achievement, as a pupil who is one or more years behind his or her pupil age group in the number of school credits attained or in basic school skill levels.
48.487(3)(b)
(b) From the allocation under
sub. (1m), the department may provide a grant annually in the amount of $65,000 to the elected governing body of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band to provide to high-risk adolescents pregnancy and parenthood prevention services which shall be structured so as to increase development of decision-making and communications skills, promote graduation from high school, and expand career and other options and which may address needs of adolescents with respect to pregnancy prevention.
48.487(4m)
(4m) Adolescent choices project grants. 48.487(4m)(a)1.
1. "Adolescent" means a person who is at least 10 years of age but under the age of 18.
48.487(4m)(b)
(b) From the allocation under
sub. (1m), the department may provide a grant annually in the amount of $60,000 to the elected governing body of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band for the provision of information to members of the tribe or band in order to increase community knowledge about problems of adolescents and information to and activities for adolescents, particularly female adolescents, in order to enable the adolescents to develop skills with respect to all of the following:
48.487(4m)(b)1.
1. Reducing adolescent pregnancy and high school dropout rates.
48.487(4m)(b)2.
2. Increasing economic self-sufficiency and expanding career options for adolescents, particularly options with respect to occupations with wages higher than the minimum wage.
48.487(4m)(b)3.
3. Enhancing individual adolescent self-esteem, interpersonal skills and responsible decision making.
48.487(4m)(c)
(c) Each funded tribal project under
par. (b) shall provide services in areas of the state as approved by the Indian tribe or band and the department. The department shall determine the boundaries of the regional areas prior to soliciting project grant applications.
48.487(4m)(d)
(d) Prior to making grants to applying tribes or bands under
par. (b), the department shall consider whether and how the applying tribe or band proposes to coordinate its services with other public or private resources, programs or activities in the region and the state.
48.487(4m)(e)
(e) The department shall work closely with the women's council and the department of public instruction, on a continuing basis, concerning the scope and direction of activities under projects funded by the program under
par. (b).
48.52
48.52
Facilities for care of children and adult expectant mothers in care of department. 48.52(1)
(1)
Facilities maintained or used for children. The department may maintain or use the following facilities for children in its care:
48.52(1)(a)
(a) Receiving homes to be used for the temporary care of children;
48.52(1)(b)
(b) Foster homes or treatment foster homes;
48.52(1)(f)
(f) Other facilities deemed by the department to be appropriate for the child, except that no state funds may be used for the maintenance of a child in the home of a parent or relative eligible for aid under
s. 49.19 if such funds would reduce federal funds to this state.
48.52(1m)
(1m) Facilities maintained or used for adult expectant mothers. The department may maintain or use the following facilities for adult expectant mothers in its care:
48.52(1m)(c)
(c) Other facilities determined by the department to be appropriate for the adult expectant mother.
48.52(2)(a)(a) In addition to the facilities and services described in
sub. (1), the department may use other facilities and services under its jurisdiction. The department may also contract for and pay for the use of other public facilities or private facilities for the care and treatment of children and the expectant mothers of unborn children in its care. Placements in institutions for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled shall be made in accordance with
ss. 48.14 (5),
48.347 (6) and
48.63 and
ch. 51.
48.52(2)(b)
(b) Public facilities are required to accept and care for persons placed with them by the department in the same manner as they would be required to do had the legal custody of these persons been transferred by a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any public facility to serve the department inconsistently with its functions or with the laws and regulations governing their activities; or to give the department authority to use any private facility without its consent.
48.52(2)(c)
(c) The department shall have the right to inspect all facilities it is using and to examine and consult with persons whom the department has placed in that facility.
48.52(4)
(4) Coeducational programs and institutions. The department may institute and maintain coeducational programs and institutions under this chapter.
48.52 Annotation
A detention home is not an `other facility' under sub. (1). State ex rel. Harris v. Larson,
64 Wis. 2d 521,
219 N.W.2d 335 (1974).
48.52 Annotation
Foster homes owned, operated, or contracted for by the department or a county department are immune from local zoning ordinances. Foster homes owned, operated, or contracted for by licensed child welfare agencies are not immune. All family operated foster homes are subject to local zoning. Municipal foster home licensing ordinances are unenforceable. 63 Atty. Gen. 34.
48.52 Annotation
Foster homes leased by the department pursuant to sub. (2) are immune from local zoning to the extent that the zoning conflicts with the department's possessory use of property under ch. 48, subject to s. 13.48 (13). The lessor remains responsible for property tax. 65 Atty. Gen. 93.
48.545
48.545
Brighter futures initiative. 48.545(1)(a)
(a) "Nonprofit corporation" means a nonstock, nonprofit corporation organized under
ch. 181.
48.545(1)(b)
(b) "Public agency" means a county, city, village, town or school district or an agency of this state or of a county, city, village, town or school district.
48.545(2)(a)(a) From the appropriations under
s. 20.437 (1) (eg) and
(nL), the department shall distribute $2,125,200 in each fiscal year to applying nonprofit corporations and public agencies operating in a county having a population of 500,000 or more and $1,199,300 in each fiscal year to applying county departments under
s. 46.22,
46.23,
51.42, or
51.437 operating in counties other than a county having a population of 500,000 or more to provide programs to accomplish all of the following:
48.545(2)(a)1.
1. Prevent and reduce the incidence of youth violence and other delinquent behavior.
48.545(2)(a)2.
2. Prevent and reduce the incidence of youth alcohol and other drug use and abuse.
